Alternator OEM FORD or OEM KIA

The Taurus alternator and 2 speed e-fan come to mind as the two most common parts that people pickup from junkyards and slap them on to their cars.

Had the same issue with my -07 Volvo v50 (it has a ford engine). Swapped the alternator and the problem was gone.

I replaced the alternator on my Windstar last month. Disconnect the wires, remove 3 bolts and lift it out. Takes like 10 minutes or less.

The alternator I have on my 3.0 Ford Ranger does over 130 at idle and 300 at 2,000 engine RPM. It's the same size as factory, just custom built for $550 for the truck since I use it for car audio competition.

Just sold mine to a friend... owned this one for 5 years, put 40+ thousand miles on it, and it needed nothing except for an alternator, and battery. It was a great car for me. Never let me down, drove, and sounded great...

We have an '05 ZX5. The alternator crapped out at about 45k miles. $50 part, did it myself. Otherwise, it's been flawless. 60k and counting.

I would suggest the genuine Kia one, or a professional grade like NAPA's top line or an AC-Delco. I would avoid anything that says "USA Industries" or "Duralast" on it, based on personal experience. In our shop we have had nearly 100% failure rates with those brands.

I had a Cougar (same underpinnings) and mine went through alternators like candy. I'm sure a better-designed aftermarket version would probably take care of it though.